Why Gerard Butler gave a Pentagon press briefing

Blake Stilwell
Apr 29, 2020 3:42 PM PDT
1 minute read
Navy photo

SUMMARY

Critics who say the Pentagon doesn’t give the press enough briefings had their prayers answered — even if they didn’t necessarily get their questions answered. On Oct. 15, the Pentagon gave a presser led by actor Gerard Butler. If you k…

Critics who say the Pentagon doesn't give the press enough briefings had their prayers answered — even if they didn't necessarily get their questions answered. On Oct. 15, the Pentagon gave a presser led by actor Gerard Butler. If you know anything about popular culture news, you probably guessed the brief focused on the Navy.


The actor has been doing a full-court press around the military community in support of his new film, Hunter Killer. Butler's October Pentagon press briefing was the first one given by the Defense Department since August of 2018.

At the time of the actor's briefing, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Pentagon Spokesperson Dana White were not at the Pentagon. They weren't even in the United States. The two were on their way to Vietnam when Butler took the podium.

He came to thank the Department of Defense for their help with his new film, due in theaters October 26th. In the film, Butler plays a U.S. Navy submarine commander with the mission of taking Navy SEALs into Russian waters to rescue a deposed Russian president from a coup plot.

"It was one of my childhood dreams to be on a sub," the actor told the gathered press room. "I didn't think it would happen the way it did, taking off from Pearl Harbor and sitting on the conning tower with a submarine commander."

Butler spent three days aboard a Navy submarine in preparation for the film. While on the boat, the actor learned about how a submariner's small, metal world works and took part in numerous training drills. He told reporters it was incredible to see how sailors are constantly being tested and must think creatively and intuitively.

"What I really took out of it was the brilliance and the humility of the sailors I worked with," he said. This isn't the first time Butler has made visits and appearances in the military community.

Marines demonstrate Marine Corps Martial Arts techniques for actor Gerard Butler at Camp Pendleton during his 2016 visit — though we're sure he already knew this move in particular.

(Marine Corps Photo by Pfc. Emmanuel Necoechea)

In 2016, the actor also flew with the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force's fighter demonstration squadron, visited Marines at Camp Pendleton, and toured guided missile destroyers at Naval Base San Diego in support of other films.

For Hunter Killer, he wanted to be sure to show his support to the Navy.

"I'd like to thank the Navy for all their help because we couldn't have done it without them – or we could, but it would not have been a good movie," Butler said.

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Sign up for We Are The Mighty's newsletter and receive the mighty updates!

By signing up you agree to our We Are The Mighty's Terms of Use and We Are The Mighty's Privacy Policy.

SHARE